A former Jacksonville resident can be seen on the silver screen come March in the movie “Unplanned,” a faith-based true story about a former Planned Parenthood director turned anti-abortion activist.

Jared Lotz, 28, now of Los Angeles, will star as Shawn Carney, co-founder and CEO of the anti-abortion advocacy group 40 Days for Life, in the upcoming film. Lotz has been acting professionally for 10 years and said that this film was one of the most pleasant shoots in which he has been involved.

“It was a really nice experience, and there was a lot of support on set,” Lotz said. “Everyone was on the same wavelength. From the director to the sound to makeup and wigs, everyone was one team, which was nice and rare to find on a film this big.”

The son of Ron and Mary Lotz and a graduate of Jacksonville High School, Lotz grew up in Jacksonville before moving to St. Louis to attend the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University.

After earning a degree in musical theater and acting, he moved to New York and then to Los Angeles four years later, all the while taking acting gigs at the St. Louis Repertory Theatre, off-Broadway theater in New York, shows for Royal Caribbean cruise line and other commercial jobs. He’s made appearances in “The Carrie Diaries” and “ Boardwalk Empire”.

His career and penchant for acting began in Jacksonville.

“It’s kind of funny, I just always wanted to act,” Lotz said. “I started doing it at a young age at the (Jacksonville) Theatre Guild. I also was a basketball player at JHS, so I wanted to either be an NBA player or an actor and since I wasn’t 6-foot, 6-inches tall, acting is what happened.”

While perusing a Los Angeles casting board, Lotz came across the opening to play Carney in “Unplanned” and applied for a shot at the role. After an audition, Lotz was selected over several more-well-known actors and began shooting the film this past summer.

“Unplanned” is based on a book by Abby Johnson that tells her story as the nation’s youngest Planned Parenthood clinic director. According to the movie’s description, Johnson was involved in more than 22,000 abortions and was an advocate for Planned Parenthood until she “saw something that changed everything.”

Johnson would go on to join 40 Days for Life with Carney and become an ardent anti-abortion speaker. Written by Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman of “God’s Not Dead” fame, the movie will feature many Christian themes.

Lotz was given the script only three or four days before he started filming, which didn’t give him much time to put himself in Carney’s shoes. He watched YouTube videos of Carney’s speeches and spoke with him by phone to get an idea of his background, but they have yet to meet in person, Lotz said.

“We’ve been on opposite coasts and he’s a busy guy,” Lotz said.

The movie is in post-production and Lotz hasn’t yet seen a finished cut, although he did see a short scene in which he leads a moment pivotal to the plot. Since finishing filming, Lotz has done a short media tour with several faith-based networks and now is back to doing commercial work and stage shows for Disney.

After being cast in the “Unplanned” role, Lotz was warned that there could be controversy surrounding the film and that he could run the risk of being blacklisted in Hollywood. Lotz said he hasn’t experienced anything like that yet.

“I just went for it anyway and it was a pretty amazing experience,” he said. “I haven’t experienced much of the controversy yet. I would imagine closer to the release date and once trailers start releasing it might rev up.”

“Unplanned” will open in theaters March 29.

In the meantime, Lotz encouraged students who share his acting dream to hold on to it.

“Anything is possible. It takes a lot of work and tenacity to take those first steps,” he said. “It’s hard to be able to leave a small town and take on the world or a big city. Anything is possible if you’re just willing to take those first steps.”

He also encouraged Jacksonville residents to continue promoting the arts when they can.

“I think everyone is a product of their childhood and, with a town like Jacksonville, it’s hard to not know where you come from and how it’s affected you,” Lotz said. “… It’s hard to keep the arts going in a small town like Jacksonville but, hopefully, this inspires more people to keep the arts in town.”

Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper.